Public Advocate: Mainers not using standard offer spent millions more on electricity bills - WGME

Public Advocate: Mainers not using standard offer spent millions more on electricity bills

A judge ordered Donald Trump to pay over $350 million in the New York civil fraud case.

AUGUSTA (WGME) -- Competitive Electricity Providers, or CEPs, have been called "predatory," "aggressive" and "misleading."

Some companies can offer you what looks to be a better price for your electricity supply as an alternative to the standard offer. Less than 10 percent of ratepayers decide to use CEPs.

On the surface, it may seem like a great way to save some money, but now the Public Advocate says that "the financial harm" to these ratepayers is "significant."

South Portland resident Kathy Upton says she gave it a shot.

"When CMP was high and there was another one out there, we decided to change, and I think it was good," Upton said.

She says she's tried something other than the standard offer in the past.

"Thought it helped our bill," Upton said.

"In many of these cases, they do have some initial savings up front," Public Advocate William Harwood said.

Harwood says if people aren't paying attention, that can go up beyond the standard offer price. In one case, they saw a provider was charging more than double.

"We get calls all the time in our office and it breaks your heart," Harwood said.

The office recently shared data showing ratepayers using CEPs from 2016 to 2021 were charged $113 million more than had they taken the standard offer.

The only time these people saved in recent years was in 2022. Those savings amounted to $33,205,291.

"For people who are struggling, those numbers are important and they add up," Harwood said.

To help, there's a bill that would require CEPs to tell customers at the time of renewal how to compare rates, get consent for all renewals and process enrollments or unenrollments within three business days.

"I think rapid switching, as it's called, is one of the best consumer protections we can establish," Senator Nicole Grohoski (D-Ellsworth) said.

Grohoski sponsored the bill on behalf of the Public Advocate's Office. She testified recently that she supports some but not all of it.

"I do not want to see the competitive supply market shut down via increased regulatory burden, because it has clear benefits," Grohoski said.

This bill also makes it so low-income customers getting financial assistance couldn't enter into a renewal contract where they pay higher than the standard offer rate at the time.

"That would protect those low-income ratepayers from being taken advantage of. We would know that they're not going to be any worse off by engaging in this and may actually have some benefits," Harwood said.

For Grohoski, this would help consumers make more informed decisions.

"It’s a gamble I guess. Just try to do our research and go from there," Upton said.

Some of the CEPs are opposed to the bill. They argue this puts burdens on customers, eliminates choice and forces companies to advertise their competitors ' prices.

For people looking at their bills and wanting to go back to the standard offer, CMP says that can be requested through this online portal.

A customer can also switch by submitting a request directly to their CEP, or they can call CMP's customer contact center.

The Office of the Public Advocate also has a number of tips for consumers.